THERE have been World Gymnastics Championships which haven’t sold out.

But on the weekend of April 8, 9 and 10 Liverpool is staging a British Gymnastics Championships, on the same day as the Grand National and it’s going to be screened live on the BBC.

And guess what? You can’t get a ticket for the Saturday of the event for love nor money.

It’s testament to the pulling power of the sport - and the healthy state of British Gymnastics right now, highlighted by elite level athletes like Rebecca Tunney.

The youngest member of Team GB in 2012 - then a prodigiously talented 15-year-old nicknamed Twiglet - Rebecca is now 19 and considered one of the senior members of City of Liverpool Gymnastics Club.

“We’ve got loads of little ones there now. I think I’m the oldest at the club!” she said.

But while much has changed at the Park Road centre in Toxteth since Rebecca stepped through its doors as a 10-year-old - Beth Tweddle is now a reality TV star, Amanda Reddin Head National Coach and Hannah Whelan a retired two-time Olympian - Liverpool has been a constant throughout Tunney’s career.

After commuting daily from her Manchester home to the elite centre in Toxteth, a standout performance at London 2012 convinced her to move permanently to Liverpool.

“I go to the college behind the bombed out church,” she said, quickly picking up the local vernacular, and now has a 10-minute walk to training every day.

She studies a BTec in Sport “to take my mind off the gym” and is looking forward to her first British Championships in three years as a result of injury.

“I had problems with my elbows but it’s all fine now,” she added - as she looks to emulate her first appearance at a senior British Championships in Liverpool four years ago.

In June 2012 she came from nowhere to win the all around competition- which identifies the best all round gymnast of the championships - and effectively earned Olympic selection at the youngest age possible.

In London Rebecca proved her Liverpool performance was no flash in the pan, helping the women finish sixth in the team competition – Britain’s best result since 1928 – then became the leading home athlete with a 13th place in the individual all-around final.

Rebecca Tunney of Great Britain competes in the Balance Beam during the Womens All-Round Final of the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Belgium 2013.

The London Olympics were characterised by the partisan crowds – something Rebecca is hoping to benefit from in Liverpool again.

“You can definitely feel the support,” she said. “Obviously you blank it out while you’re doing the routines, but while you’re walking around the arena it definitely makes a difference.”

And, of course, the spectre of Rio 2016 is looming ever closer.

Liverpool is the final qualifying event for the summer Olympics and then there is an interminable wait for the squad announcement on July 12.

Liverpool supplied three of Liverpool’s four-strong women’s team at London 2012, but Rebecca refuses to look too far ahead.

“Rio is always in the back of your head but the more you worry about it the more stressful it becomes,” she explained.

“We got a bronze at the worlds, we’ve got a good team so we’d have a good chance of getting a medal if everything went according to plan. But we’ll just have to see how it goes.”

With Crosby’s Dan Purvis, a bronze medallist in 2012, and Southport’s Frank Baines also aiming for success in Liverpool, this year’s British Championships are likely to be hugely significant.

And you CAN still pick up some tickets for the Friday and Sunday.

But you’ll have to be quick. Gymnastics is booming in Britain - and on Merseyside.